Reading test for the 5th form

Reading comprehension test for 5^th form

Christmas in England

Every country has its own customs and traditions. English people are proud of their traditions and they keep them up.It is difficult to speak about England without speaking about its holidays. Christmas Day is among them.

All English people celebrate Christmas (or X-mas) on the 25th of December.

Christmas! What kind of holiday is it? It is the yearly celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It falls on December 25 by the Catholic Church and on the 7th of January by the Orthodox Church. This holiday means the beginning of the new year and the new life.

English people celebrate this holiday with the evergreen tree - Christmas tree. Children rut along sock, called a Christmas stocking at the end of their beds and Santa Claus conies down the chimney to bring them presents.

Christmas Day is the greatest holiday in England. It is interesting to visit the shops before this holiday. There are a lot of nice Christmas cards and presents there. English people like this holiday very much and prepare for it beforehand. They buy presents for each other, try to send Christmas cards for their relatives and friends.

It is interesting to visit London during this holiday. There is a Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. We can see many lights, toys and sweets all over this tree. Everywhere you can see slogans "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".

The traditional English dinner on Christmas is turkey and pudding.

Vocabulary:

yearly- ежегодно

among- среди

keep up- чтить

beforehand- заранее

evergreen- вечнозеленое

Task1 (scrambled words)

1.es pre nt

2.ng cki sto

3.tion di tra

4.mas Ch rist

5.li day ho

Task2 (match the words)

1. to keep up A presents

2. to celebrate B shops

3. to bring C the traditions

4. to send D Christmas

5. to visit E cards

Task 3 (true-false)

1. English people keep up their traditions.

2. Christmas Day is on the twenty-fifth of December.

3. Christmas holiday means the beginning of winter holiday.

4. Santa Claus conies down the stairs to bring presents.

5. The main Christmas tree is in the Trafalgar Square.

KEYS

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3

1.present 1. C 1. true

2.stocking 2. D 2. true

3.tradition 3. A 3. false

4.Christmas 4. E 4. false

5.holiday 5. B 5. true